Most property owners doesn’t know the severity of having a bad tenant in their property. Just because the rent is being paid on time and there are no complaints doesn’t mean everything is going well.
Which is why you need a property management company to conduct routine inspections. They should be your eyes and ears. Not only does informed inspection deter tenants from doing unacceptable things that cause damages, it also allows you to catch problems quickly and prevent them from escalating.
However, the sole success of the inspection rests solely on the property management group so it’s crucial to determine whether they’re up to the task or not. Because more often than not, incompetent property managers fake inspection reports just for the sake of submitting a detailed report to you. Therefore, it’s in your best interests that you require them to submit an inspection program and review it prior to hiring them. So here are some questions that you should ask the property management company and make sure that you’re satisfied with their answer:
1. What kind of move in inspection do you perform?
The property manager should schedule an informed inspection where both parties — tenant and manager, agree on the date and time. The property manager should perform a comprehensive inspection which includes photos and notes regarding damages and misuse of property assets. The final inspection report must be concise, easy-to-understand and straightforward and includes digital evidences that there are indeed damages caused by the tenant during their stay.Have the tenant sign off the document to acknowledge everything in the report. This type of documentation is important in order to make the tenant liable for their actions.
2. How often do you inspect the interior of the property?
An acceptable timeline of interior inspection should occur at least annually, with every six months being the preferred interval. Anything more than that is deemed unnecessary and costly and anything less is insufficient. The real estate manager must have a checklist of items and locations to inspect for misuse of property assets such as owner-supplied appliances, HVAC systems, wall partitions, among many others.
Don’t accept property management companies which only inspect between vacancies — which results in the tenant escaping their penalties if there are violated clauses in the contract agreement.
3.How often do you inspect the exterior of the property?
Monthly and quarterly is the standard schedule but it can be more frequent which is actually better. Exterior inspection focuses only on the exterior look of the property — which in most cases, see defects only from afar. Therefore, minute defects are often neglected such as small scratches of exterior paint, misalignment of wall panels, among many others because they are negligible when viewed from afar.
4. How often do you send inspection reports to me?
Firstly, you should ask for a sample copy of their report. At first glance, you should already be able to know whether it’s a high quality piece of paper or not. A good report must be easy-to-understand and straightforward. Anything less than that is considered to be lacklustre. Also, take note that every formal inspections must have a corresponding inspection report.
Importance of Inspection
The importance of inspection can’t be understated. In fact, paying for a property management company to do inspection of your property can result in higher investment returns as compared to otherwise. The accumulated repair cost of damages in an event where the tenant can’t be held accountable can dry your returns. In other words, what might have been guaranteed profit is allocated to repair. Using a property management company is a wise business plan.
